A variety of problems associated with peeling the shell from a shrimp and removing the sand vein (deveining) continues to plague the industry with long felt needs to efficiently and not only economically provide the shrimp meat, but provide the meat with a desirable appearance. During the cutting of the shell prior to removal, the cutting blades often tear into the meat making many processed shrimp undesirable for presentation to customers in salads, by way of example, and useful only for a lower priced chopped meat used as a filling. There is a need for cutting the shell without damage to the meat, while still being able to effectively remove the shell and vein from the shrimp. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,682 to Lapeyre discloses the need for providing a clean-cut operation which preserves the integrity of the shrimp meat by individually cradling and securing one shrimp for cutting through a dorsal side of the shrimp and ripping out the vein.
For large quantities, restaurants and retail stores have typically relied upon commercial processors for providing the peeled and deveined shrimp. Processors will typically rely on large machines such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 24,115; 2,760,224; and 3,040,374 to Miller, by way of example. And while it is known to saw through the shell of the shrimp, as described by way of example, with reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,787,928 to Domecki which discloses a shrimp splitting and cleaning machine in which the shrimp are mounted on a rotating transport wheel which feeds through a splitting and cleaning process, and 4,393,543 to Martin which uses a conveyor belt for transporting pre-oriented shrimp for uncurling, cutting, and washing for removing the vein from the shrimp body. The integrity of the meat would be better served, no pun intended, with a gentle handling of the shrimp being processed to meet the still present need for effectively cutting the shell and removing the sand vein while maintaining a high efficiency in the process.
Further, in the interest of freshness and cost, there is a need for a machine that can be effectively used by a grocer, a chef, and a seafood retailer, by way of example, without having the need for the high volume processing and experience of a commercial processor. There is a further need to be able to automatically process the shrimp in a timely manner, without undesirable handling, and with the result of a desirable production for the effort and time spent. The cleaning and preparation of a fresh shrimp should not have unfavorably impact on the available space, available water supply, and other normally required business operations.